the dealership when having a car serviced.
Bring a cute dog.
Subaru has a kids play room and a doggy play yard at the dealership. Charlie enjoys going to the dealer when we do oil changes and tire rotations.
He makes good use of the yard and then we tour the show floor while I pretend that he is picking out his next Subaru. Over the years, he has posed with sales people in front of some of the displays.
Everyone at the Service Desk had to say hello to him and pet him. He was a bundle of wagging little joy. The Service Manager said that he'd like to keep Charlie as a greeter. Oh, they would take GOOD care of him!
This time other patrons waiting asked about Charlie and the doggy amenities. They thought it was great that I'd brought a pet to bide my time. I told them that the dealership loved having pets visit.
They all wanted to know what kind of dog Charlie was. Well, he is a mutt. His dad was a miniature dachshund and mom was a Pekinese dog.
The conversations all revolved around pets and soon I was peering at smart phone photos from all sorts of customers who were telling me what kind of dog or cat they had. Eventually we had about 7 people all in a circle talking about their pets.
One little old lady sat next to me and shared her stories of her dog who was gone. Then she showed me photos of her grandson's cats. She was now living with her grandson and he had cats. She had 8 grandchildren grown up and something like 8 or 9 great grandchildren and they all lived close.
I learned where she traveled and that she had a home on the West Coast on a beach. Another couple told me about their dog and their daughters, in that order. I learned all about their families just by listening.
It was fun, another gent shared his thoughts about his son's Miniture Pinchers aka Minpins. He asked my advice on their crazy dogs. [Apparently he thought I was a dog mystic or something!]
He then told me about his family -- after showing me photos of his dog. A person can learn a lot by just looking interested and curious. But I think Charlie was the ice breaker.
As their cars were ready, the patrons who visited thanked me for bringing Charlie because it was fun to converse with others rather than sit and stare at the large TV in the waiting area. They said it passed the time quickly.
As for Charlie? He was so tired from being such a good little dog that he slept the whole way home.